The opposing keeper made a desperate leap, trying to reach the ball despite his unfavorable situation.
Even so, he failed to land a touch.
Upon seeing the scene on the field, many in the stands grew anxious. Their heart thumped while their expression turned sour.
Swoop!
The stadium that had been bursting with energy until a moment ago became eerily silent as the ball glided inside the post.
Their heart sank as a feeling of shock gripped their heart.
Just what took place on the field?
Many players on the opposing side had a look of disbelief on their faces. Everything happened so fast that they couldn't even bring themselves to react.
While those who had failed to stop Tatsuki seemed quite dejected.
On the other hand, Hiro and his teammates began to celebrate. It had only been a few seconds since the start of the match. Yet they had already taken the lead.A feeling of euphoria washed over the players of Japan. Especially Tatsuki, his feet were in the clouds. However, due to the limited number of Japanese fans, he could only celebrate the goal among themselves.
While they were busy celebrating, Kvicha's gaze fell upon Hiro. Though it was Tatsuki who had scored, he knew that it wouldn't have been possible without the help of Hiro.
Despite the simplicity that through-pass seemed so unreal. Just how daring was he to execute such a move with such confidence?
It was almost similar to the one he had seen previously once.
To execute such a move wasn't an easy feat.
Fortunately, it was only a friendly match. Otherwise, their reputation would have taken a hit for sure had it been in an official match. They'd be labeled as the nation to concede one of the fastest goals in the history of football.
'Was it a fluke or was it our ignorance?' He thought. complacently staring at Hiro.
Despite the brilliance behind that pass, he was reluctant to admit that it was pure skill. Yet still, one thing was becoming clear to him; they couldn't play safe just because it was a friendly match or else they'd be humiliated.
Their celebration didn't last long due to the limited number of fans present at the venue. So after celebrating for a little while they returned to their position to resume the match.
Less than a minute and the home side were already trailing. This dampened the mood of the home fans a little. But precisely because they had a lot of time remaining, they were still optimistic to level the score.
Beep!
The match resumed as everybody assumed their position.
The opposing players appeared much more vigilant than ever after conceding such an embarrassing goal. For sure they had learned their lesson.
Carefully treading their way they tried to level the score.
Even so, how would the Japanese players make it easy for them to accomplish their goals?
Their every effort to equalize was thwarted by the Japanese players. It didn't matter whether they struck them from the flanks or center.
As for their star player, Tomiyasu delivered on his promise as he pocketed him.
Tomiyasi wasn't particularly strong. But he had an uncanny ability to read the game. Relying on his ability, he put a stop to the opposing number seven.
As for Hiro, he fully made use of his newly acquired talent to its fullest. Mostly operating in the center of the pitch, he fully covered the midfield area.
He wasn't particularly good at defending but relying on his newly acquired talent, he made many successful steals throughout the first half.
Previously defending had been his weakest link but right now it seemed that he had found something to cover his flaws. Well, he wasn't required to defend in the first place since he was an attacking midfielder.
But as a midfielder, defending was still one of his responsibility.
If only he was a striker, it wouldn't have been an issue. But he was a midfielder, so he was required to participate in the defense as well.
On the sidelines, Nanami had a rather satiated expression on his face. Though his team hadn't been able to score another goal, he was satisfied with the improvement of Hiro.
'You stayed true to your words' he thought while recalling Hiro's earlier words. Though he was feeling quite elated with Hiro's progress, he didn't show it on his face. After all, he decided to start him. Despite his talent, many were against starting him due to his age. But he had put his trust in him.
And right now, he only proved it right.
'I was indeed right to start you.'
Almost forty minutes had passed since the start of the match. But after that early goal from Japan, neither side had managed to score.
And the score had remained 1:0 until now.
Just then in the 42nd minute of the match, Hiro once again made a brilliant steal after calculating the play of the opposing players. To many, it seemed like a blunder from the
opposing player.
But if only they could see what's on Hiro's head they would know that it wasn't a blunder but a calculated tactic.
The shocking part was that it was Kvicha who had given the ball away.
It was supposed to be a thorough pass to one of his teammates. But how did he calculate where he was aiming? It wasn't as simple as a steal. Without knowing how to position
himself, it would have been almost impossible to steal.
So, he must have waited for him to make the pass.
Upon finding the ball stolen, Kvicha panicked as several thoughts flashed past his mind. But he immediately composed himself as he tried to right his mistake.
But if only he knew about Hiro's trump card, he might have thought differently.
However, since he was unaware of Hiro's trump card, he made a grave mistake by rushing to him. He had predicted that he could win the ball back by sprinting onto him.
But he wasn't aware of Hiro's acceleration since they didn't have any records of him. They had studied other players but not him.
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